Gas-turbine plant



Jan. 8, 1946. w. TRAUPEL 2,392,623

GAS TURBINE PLANT Filed June 3, 1943 INVENTOR. #414727? 77540 51 BY ATTOWYS Patented Jan. 8, 1946 GAS-TURBINEPLANT Walter Traupel, Winterthur, Switzerland, assignor to Sulzer Freres, Societe thur, Switzerland Anonyme, Winter- Application June 3, 1943, Serial No. 489,470 a t In Switzerland July 10, 1942 3 Claims. '(Cl. 60-59) The invention relates to a gas-turbine plant in which at least a part'of the working mediummoves in a closed circuit and another part of the working medium is withdrawn from the circuit and led to an auxiliary turbine which is used for driving an auxiliary make-up compressor supplying air to replace the quantity of working medium removed from the circuit. The invention consists inthat the auxiliary turbine is driven by working medium which is preheated in the circuit and. brought at least approximately up to the highest pressure of the circuit, whilst the auxiliary compressor introduces the air at a part wherethe pressure in the circuit is lowest. The purpose of the invention is to be able, without the use of outside energy, to make up the losses occurring by escape of.working medium through the stufling-boxes and other leak spots in the circuit.

Since the working medium adopted for driving the auxiliary turbine has a much higher pressure than the air led to the closed circuit, a greater quantity-without using any energy from outside-can be led in through the auxiliary makeup compressor to the. closed circuit than is taken out through the auxiliary turbine from the closed circuit. The diiference between the greater quantity led in and the-smaller quantitytaken out serves to make up losses of the working medium.

It will be found preferable to regulate the auxiliary turbine to which the extracted quantity is admitted, by varying the admission-for instance by closing and opening separatenozzles or groups of nozzles. The admission to the auxiliary turmedium arrives first of all in the high-pressure turbine 6 and passes from it, after partial expansion and cooling, into the low-pressure turbine I. After that, the working medium flows to .main compressors l and 3.' Any excess output may be absorbed by the electric machine l0 coming intov action as 'a generator. The machine I0 may also be used as a motor, for instance when the plant is being put into service. The low-pressure turbine 1 drives the electric generator 9, the energy from which is led away from the plant for use elsewhere.

The auxiliary turbine I3 is connected to the temperature has been already considerably raised by a part of the heating surface of the heatexchanger 4. Through the auxiliary compressor M the air is led in at a place shortly before the bine can be adjusted in accordance with a tu'rv bine of the closed circuit which does useful work. With increased admission, the output of the auxiliary turbine is increased, and the quantity delivered by the compressor is also correspondingly increased; In this manner the closed circuit is supercharged to a higher pressure level, so that the effective output of the whole plant is corre-- er 2 into the high-pressure compressor 3. In a heat-exchanger 4 acting as a heat-recuperator, the compressed working medium is first of all preheated and then further heated in the gas heater 5. The compressed and heated working 'low-pressurecompressor I, where practically the lowest pressure of the circuit is to be found.

- In the closed circuit of the plant, pure air may be circulated as in the described example. The auxiliary turbine then receives air as the gaseous working medium.

I claim:

1. In a gas turbine plant having a, low pressure compressor and a high pressure compressor connected in series and'operating on the same shaft.

cooler means in series with said compressors, a. high pressure turbine for driving said compressors, a low pressure turbine for driving a load, a heat exchanger acting as a heat recuperator, a conduit in the heat exchanger, a heater; conduits for passing compressed air through the compresand from the conduit in the heat exchanger through the cooler means to the low pressure compressor; the improvement which comprises an auxiliary turbine, a conduit connecting the auxiliary turbine with the heat exchanger for supplying the auxiliary turbine with high pressure preheated gas, an auxiliary compressor for make-up air driven by the auxiliary turbine, and a conduit for passing the make-up air] fromthe auxiliary make-up compressor into the conduit in the heat exchanger at a point where the pressure 'is relatively low. 7

2. Ina'gas turbine plant having main com-- pressor means, a heat exchanger acting as a heat recuperator, cooler means in series with said compressor means and the heat exchanger, a gas heater, heating the working medium by means of heat exchange contact through a heating surface,

main turbine means driving partly said compressor means and partly a load, conduit means for dium irom' said cooler means to said compressor means, so as to form a circuit of working medium through the compressor means, the heat exchanger, the gas heater, the turbine means, back through the heat exchanger and through the cooler to the compressor, the improvement which comprises an auxiliary turbine, conduit means connecting the auxiliary turbine with the circuit at a point where'the pressure is relatively high, an auxiliary compressor for working medium to replace the losses of working medium in the circuit, said auxiliary compressor being driven by the auxiliary turbine, and conduit means ior passing the compressed replacing working medium from the auxiliary'compressor into the circuit at a point where the pressure is relatively low.

3. A gas turbine plant working with a closed circuit of a gaseous working medium which is first compressed in main compressor means, then heated by means 01 heat exchange in a gas heater, then expanded in main turbine means, and there-- after cooled and conducted back to the compressor comprising an auxiliary turbine driven by gases extracted from the circuit at a pointwhere the pressure is relatively high, an auxiliary compressor for working medium to replace the losses of working medium in the circuit,'said auxiliary compressor being driven, by the auxiliary turbine,

and means'for introducing the compressed re-' placing working medium into the circuit at a point between the main turbine means and the main compressor means.

WALTER TRAUPEL. 

